


Little Bear, Sarek the Shuttle and the Risan Princesses

by mandykaysfic



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Humor, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-10 11:42:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandykaysfic/pseuds/mandykaysfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chakotay and Tom find themselves babysitting for the evening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Bear, Sarek the Shuttle and the Risan Princesses

“Is there anything else?” 

Silence greeted Captain Janeway’s final question, so she wound up the morning briefing, dismissing almost everyone to his or her station. “Commander Chakotay, would you please remain behind for a moment?”

Chakotay remained seated, wondering what else the captain needed to say to him. 

“Chakotay, I need a favor. Do you and Tom have anything planned for tonight?”

“No. I think we were just going to stay in and relax. Both of us have been busy recently. Why?”

“Would you be able to mind Michael and Alyssa for a couple of hours? Greg and I are in urgent need of a break. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed motherhood over the past four months, but we’ve been on different shifts for ten weeks and tomorrow our days off actually coincide. We’ll be doing family stuff then, the four of us, but tonight we just need to focus on ourselves for a while.”

“Sure. Do you want us to keep them overnight?”

“No. Twenty hundred hours until midnight will be fine, although thanks for the offer.”

“Keep it in mind and talk to Greg. If you change your mind or want us to take them earlier, let me know.”

~

Sickbay was busy that morning. Tom and the Doctor dealt with a broken arm, several sprains, and a black eye. In one of the few quiet periods, Megan Delaney arrived without an injury. She was anxious to speak with Tom.

“Tom, is there any chance you are free tonight?”

“Sure. What’s up, Megan?”

“Would you be able to watch Bonny for a couple of hours tonight? In your quarters?” Without waiting for an answer she continued, “I’m making a special dinner for us. I can’t concentrate on the cooking and Bonny at the same time. She’s into everything, and I want tonight to be perfect. Jenny’s got something planned for Tabor and they can’t help tonight. Mariah’s minding Kerys for them.”

“It’s your anniversary, right? That should be okay. We were only planning a quiet night in; a few hands of cards, maybe watch a vid, that kind of thing. What time do you want to bring her over?”

“Is eighteen hundred hours too early? I promise to pick her up before midnight.”

“No. That will be okay. See you later then.”

“Thanks, Tom.”

~

The computer informed Tom it was eighteen hundred hours and right on time the door chimed.

“Come.”

“Uncle Tom!” Two-year-old Bonny raced in through the door and flung herself at her favorite uncle. Megan and Carla had adopted Bonny after her parents were killed eighteen months earlier during an attack by a xenophobic race desperate to keep Voyager from their space.

Megan chased after Bonny while Carla followed at a more sedate pace. She was carrying a large bag containing the various accoutrements needed by an active toddler.

“We haven’t had time to give her dinner, but it’s ready in here,” said Carla, rapidly unpacking some of the bag’s contents.

“She’ll need a bath too.” Megan ran a hand through her hair. “Sorry to leave you with all of this Tom, but it’s been one of those afternoons. She really needs to be in bed by twenty hundred hours, otherwise she’ll get overtired.”

“We’ll be fine, Megan. Now off the two of you go and have a lovely evening.”

He shooed Megan and Carla out of the door then unwound Bonny’s arms from his knees and swung her up onto his shoulders.

“Fly me, Uncle Tom!” Bonny demanded imperiously. “Please,” she added. 

Tom laughed as he grasped her firmly round the waist and lifted her over his head before turning himself in circles a few times. He wouldn’t be doing this much longer, her thought ruefully a few minutes later. The small girl was growing rapidly and getting quite heavy.

“Are you hungry, pumpkin?” he asked. “Let’s see what Mommy has packed for your dinner.”

They knelt at the coffee table where Carla had left the supplies. They had just begun to sort out the food containers when Samantha Wildman’s voice paged Tom over the comm. system.

“Susan Nicoletti has gone unexpectedly into labor. I’m needed in Sickbay. Can you watch Naomi and the twins for a couple of hours until Joe finishes in Engineering?”

“Sure. I’ve got Bonny here, but Naomi will be able to help. I was just about to give Bonny her dinner, but we can wait for you and then Naomi can eat with her. Do the twins need feeding?”

“Not for another hour or so. Joe won’t be done till twenty-one hundred hours, and Sue needs me now. Will you be able to manage the babes with an active toddler under foot?”

“Sure. Chakotay will be home soon. We’ll be fine.”

“Great. They’re asleep now and not due to wake for an hour. I’ll prepare the bottles now so all you’ll have to do is heat them up. It’s lucky I finished breastfeeding them a couple of weeks ago. See you in a few minutes.”

“Hey Bonny, guess what? Naomi is coming over! Nicky and James too. Won’t that be fun?”

“’Omi!” squealed Bonny. She adored five-year-old Naomi. The six-month-old twins were less exciting. She scrambled to her feet and toddled over to the door. “’Omi here now?” she asked hopefully.

The door chimed.

“That was fast. Are you sure you don’t have ESP kiddo?” Tom called out for Sam and the children to enter. 

Harry came through the door, a dark eyed little boy clinging to one hand and a carry basket containing a sleeping infant in his other.

“SOS, Tom. Can you watch the boys for a couple of hours for me? There’s been a crisis in Engineering. A console has exploded for no apparent reason and some of the relays have failed. Two crewmembers have been transferred to Sickbay. B’El’s tearing her hair out and I’m going to give a hand. Oh, you’ve got Bonny. It’s okay. I’ll ask Sue. She’s not allowed in Engineering this close to the birth.”

Tom ran his hand through his hair. “You can’t. She’s gone into early labor. It’s okay. Leave the boys here. Chakotay will be home soon. We’ll manage.”

“Thanks, Tom. I owe you.” He headed into the bedroom where he placed the carry basket in the centre of the bed and unloaded the backpack containing diapers and formula. He looked around for a suitable place for the backpack and stowed it in the corner of the room.

Back in the living room, Robbie stood quietly. Bonny chattered away to him, her words tumbling out almost too quickly for clarity.

“Robbie, you stay with Uncle Tom and Bonny. Daddy has to help Momma for a while. I’ll be back soon.” Harry kissed his elder son goodbye. “Tom, we haven’t eaten yet. Charge Robbie’s dinner to my account. He may as well have the same as Bonny.” He slapped Tom’s back in appreciation and hurried out of the door.

“I guess that means Joe won’t get out of Engineering on time,” said Tom to his audience of two.

The door chimed again. This time it was Samantha. “Oh Tom, I see you’ve got Robbie now. I suppose Harry has been called down to Engineering. Joe will be a little later than I said. Are you sure you’ll be okay with all of the children?”

“Yeah, Rennie’s asleep at the moment, and you said James and Nicky will sleep for a while longer. Besides, I’ve got Naomi to help me now,” and he grinned down at the young girl, who had joined Bonny and Robbie.

“If you’re absolutely positive then. I’ll put the twins in the bedroom. Their portable chairs are here so you can attach them to the table when they are ready to eat. There’s some stewed fruit for their tea as well as formula,” she said, and pushed the double stroller through the bedroom door. 

Samantha stood for a minute, and smiled down at the sleeping Rennie, so different to her own strawberry blonde twins, with his dark silky hair and faint forehead ridges. She softly kissed the twins and then Naomi before heading off to Sickbay.

“Dinner time,” Tom announced and began to attend to the children. Six children, he thought; I can do this.

~

Chakotay was deep in reports when door chime broke his concentration. 

“Come.”

“Commander Chakotay.”

“Tuvok. How may I help you?”

“I require assistance with a personal matter. We are in need of someone to watch over Terik and T’Nika for four and one half hours this evening. The doctor was to oblige, however Lieutenant Nicoletti has gone into early labor and he is now otherwise engaged, and with the current crisis in Engineering, many of the regular babysitters are unavailable. I am aware that Captain Janeway has asked you to watch Michael and Alyssa. Would you and Mr Paris be willing to take on the added work required by two extra children?”

“I’m sure Tom won’t mind at all. We were only planning a quiet night at home. What time would you like to bring them over?”

“Nineteen thirty hours, if that is convenient?”

“That will be fine. I’ll finish up here and go and let Tom know. See you soon, Tuvok.”

The door swished shut and Chakotay turned back to his reports. He selected the three most urgent ones to finish up in his office and placed the others aside. He debated whether to call Tom and break the news to him straight away, but decided not to as he would be home in less than twenty minutes if he knuckled down to work now.

He was on the last report when the door chimed again. He called out for the person to enter. It was the captain and her husband, complete with pram containing sleeping babies and two bags of baby paraphernalia. Greg carried a small boy on his hip. Kathryn stayed in the corridor with the pram, while Greg came inside.

“Chakotay, we decided to take you up on your offer to take Michael and Alyssa a little earlier. Do you mind having Dav as well? Gerron’s come down with a virus.”

Gerron had surprised everyone when, shortly after completing Tuvok’s training program, he settled into a relationship with Ensign Craig Matthews. The two decided they wanted a family and with the doctor’s help, became parents to Dav a scant seven months later. The young couple had recently been discussing giving Dav a brother or sister some time soon.

Chakotay blinked. Five children? Dav was three and a half, a big-eyed, solemn little boy who loved to draw. The twins were only four months and still slept a fair amount of time. Terik was two, and T’Nika five months old. She would be asleep for most of the night too. Dav and Terik could go to sleep in the big bed belonging to Tom and himself in a couple of hours. He nodded.

“That will be fine. Come here, Dav.” He held out his arms and Greg transferred his burden to Chakotay. “Here we go.” Reports forgotten, he closed his office.

“How about a piggy-back?” He swung Dav around onto his back. The small boy clung to him in monkey-fashion. He took hold of the pram handle and waved his friends away.

“Go on. I can manage.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Now go, before I change my mind.”

Chakotay headed off to the turbolift. He started telling a story to Dav, who giggled delightedly. ‘Little Bear’s Long Day’ was a favorite of his, and Chakotay always told it with special voices for each character.

Chakotay’s “Hi honey, I’m home,” died on his lips as a wave of sound assaulted his ears and he took in the scene that greeted him as the door to his quarters slid open.

A small boy, instantly recognizable as Robbie Kim, sat on the sofa crying noisily. Naomi Wildman and Bonny Andrews were crawling round the floor. They were playing hide and seek with Bonny’s beloved teddy bear. Naomi had hidden it and was ‘helping’ Bonny to find it. Tom, who stood with his back to Chakotay, had a bottle in one hand and Rennie Kim balanced over his other shoulder. Rennie had obviously just spit up on Tom. The remains of a spilt glass of milk dripped slowly off the table. Chakotay managed to identify soup, chicken fingers and some half eaten blackberry jelly sandwiches amidst the mess on the table. Whimpers came from the bedroom.

“Thank goodness you’re home. I could use a spare…pair…of…hands.” Tom’s eyes widened as he turned and took in Dav riding on Chakotay’s back and the Janeway-Ayala twins in the pram. 

“Hiya Uncle Tom. Lotsa people here,” sing-songed Dav as he wriggled down from Chakotay’s back and went to sit next to Robbie. He began patting him and telling him not to cry.

“Dav!” screamed Bonny. “’Omi’s here. Robbie spilt milk.” She had smears of dark jelly round her mouth.

“She tells it like it is,” said Tom ruefully. “Chakotay, I have six children here already.” He came up to stand beside partner. “That’s Nicki and James you can hear from the bedroom.” He rubbed Rennie’s back in a circular motion. “Sue Nicoletti went into early labor so Sam is in Sickbay. Joe’s in Engineering; that was supposed to be only until twenty-one hundred, but they’ve had some sort of crisis and Harry’s gone down to give a hand, so we’ve got the two R’s as well. Megan and Carla had already asked me to mind Bonny earlier in the day. You?”

“Kathryn and Greg are in desperate need of a little time alone. She asked me to mind the twins. Greg took Dav for Gerron and Craig. Gerron’s picked up a virus and Craig’s nursing him. But that’s not all.” He paused, not sure how to tell Tom there would be two more children arriving soon.

“Hang on a minute. The only other children on Voyager are Jenny and Tabor’s Kerys, and Terik and T’Nika. And I know Mariah is looking after Kerys. Don’t tell me…”

“Tuvok is leaving Terik and T’Nika here in about an hour.”

Tom’s lips twitched. 

“Do you want me to comm. them and say no?” asked Chakotay.

“Nah. It’s only for a few hours. We’ve faced the Kazon, the Vidiians, and a dozen other hostile species. We can do this. Here, take Rennie for a moment. Keep him upright. I think he’s got a touch of colic. I’ll go and put Michael and Alyssa in our room, change my shirt and bring Nicky and James out. Then we’ll work out who needs feeding, bathing and whatnot.” 

Chakotay looked at the mess on the table and shuddered. He supposed he could try and clear it up one-handed, but Robbie needed comforting. He went over to the sofa. 

“Who would like to hear a story?”

“Me!” screeched Bonny. 

“’nother Little Bear story please Uncle Tay. Robbie likes Little Bear,” said Dav.

Robbie nodded, his sobs now quieted down to the occasional hiccup. Dav moved closer to Robbie making some space on the sofa. “You sit here Uncle Tay,” and he patted the cushion next to him. 

Chakotay made Rennie comfortable, and Bonny crawled up to nestle into his other side. Naomi dragged a cushion from one of the other chairs and dropped down at Chakotay’s feet. She loved Little Bear too.

“This is the story of Little Bear’s new friend,” he began. He rubbed Rennie’s back as he spoke.

Michael and Alyssa had remained asleep as Tom transferred the baskets from the pram to the head of bed. There was no way for him to fit two twin prams in the bedroom, so their pram would have to remain by the bedroom door. Nicky was still whimpering. Tom had looked after most of the Voyager babies at some stage beginning with Naomi, albeit not all at once, so he checked the diaper without flinching. He breathed a sigh of relief when it was only wet. He gathered all the things he needed to perform the operation and then lifted Nicky from her side of the stroller onto the end of the bed. Working in Sickbay had provided him with confidence to handle the tiny body. After he cleaned and changed her, he couldn’t resist blowing raspberries on Nicky’s plump little belly. She spluttered and giggled, her blue eyes crinkling up with joy. 

“I bet that feels better Angel,” cooed Tom. He stoked the baby’s soft reddish-blonde curls. “Are you hungry yet? Mommy said you’d need feeding in about an hour. You know, I bet that hour’s up. Let’s get your bottle and give you to Uncle Tay to feed, hmm? How’s that for a plan?”

Nicky burbled back at Tom. As he hugged her again, James began to stir.

“Don’t you wake those other twins,” said Tom. He shifted Nicky to his left shoulder and managed to scoop James up onto his right shoulder, barely maintaining his balance. He made his way out to the living room, shuffling his feet along the ground so he wouldn’t trip over while his arms were full of the precious cargo.

“This is my new friend, Little Cat.” Chakotay’s Little Bear voice filled the room. “Hello. I’m Little Cat.” Tom grinned; Little Cat’s higher voice was quite a strain on the vocal cords.

“Can you manage two more for a few minutes?”

“Can you take Rennie? He’s quiet now. And besides, he smells. Bad.”

Tom groaned. It looked like he was going to get lumbered with the job of chief diaper changer. He considered the best way to maneuver the babies, and then leant forward, first handing Nicky to Chakotay, and then James, and finally taking Rennie back into his own arms. He sped carefully back to the bedroom. Tom started to remove Rennie’s clothes but quickly decided a bath was going to be the most efficient was to clean him. No wonder he had been upset. He put Rennie into his basket and stuck his head through the doorway. “He needs a bath. I’ll do it. You’ll need to feed the twins if they start to cry. Bonny has to have a bath too, but I’ll put fresh water in when I finish Rennie.”

“What about the others?”

“Dunno. I wasn’t told, but Robbie and Dav may as well go in with Bonny. Three will fit in the tub okay.”

“Sounds fine to me.”

Tom paced Rennie on a clean towel on the floor while he ran a few inches of warm water into the bottom of the big bath. When he was happy with the temperature of the water, he began peeling the sticky clothes off the little body. He breathed shallowly through his mouth as the smell grew more overpowering, and began a running commentary as he slowly cleaned the golden skin.

“Not nice, Ren. You could have done this for your dad.”

Rennie relaxed in the warm water and smiled gummily at Tom. He kicked his feet and patted the water with his hands, plainly enjoying himself now the pains in his belly had gone.

“Sorry, Rennie, you have to get out now. We can’t leave Uncle Tay alone with everyone for too long.” 

Tom lifted the wet, squirming body onto the towel, and then realized all of the baby’s clean things were in the backpack in the bedroom. He bit back a curse, and got awkwardly to his feet. He pushed the pile of dirty clothes onto the corner of the room with his foot, and moved back into the bedroom. He decided the safest place for Rennie would be back in his basket, as them he could search through the backpack with both hands. 

“Hmm, blue, red or green. What color do you fancy wearing? Are any of these your pyjamas? I like the red one best.” Tom kept his voice low as he murmured to Rennie. He didn’t want to wake the sleeping twins just yet. “Okay young man; you’re clean, you’ve been fed, you don’t seem to want to go to sleep so you can come out with the others but you’ll have to stay in your basket for the moment.”

Chakotay was walking up and down, Nicky and James each over one large shoulder. They were both fussing. Bonny was begging Uncle Tay to fly her like Uncle Tom did. Naomi was investigating Tom’s vids. He had several Flotter adventures as well as a selection of cartoons. Robbie remained on the sofa, his face streaked with dried tears. He was clutching Naomi’s teddy bear. Dav was standing by the table, surveying the remains of the meal. He was shaking his head. “Can’t eat here, Uncle Tay. You gotta nother table?”

Tom took in the scene at a glance and his lips twitched at the wild look in Chakotay’s eyes.

“Keep walking for a minute and I’ll give you a hand,” said Tom. He placed Rennie’s basket by the sofa, and caught up Bonny. “No flying now, Jelly-face. Do you want to watch Flotter?”

“Flotter! Okay.” 

“This one, Uncle Tom,” said Naomi and handed her choice over. Tom got Robbie, Bonny and Naomi settled on the sofa, and then bribed Dav with the promise of a grilled cheese sandwich on a tray in front of the television to come and watch as well.

“What do you want to do? Clean the table or feed the twins?”

“I’ll feed the twins, Tom. Then you can start the bath for the others when you’ve finished the table.” 

“You’ll have to wait while I clear up first. Sam mentioned something about stewed fruit for them. Keep walking and hope the other twins don’t wake just yet.” Tom had begun clearing the mess as he spoke. A few minutes later, he had attached the portable chairs to the table and placed bowls of warm apple, spoons and bibs in readiness. 

“It’s all yours, Cha. Ready and waiting.”

Chakotay moved reluctantly away from the television. He had a soft spot for the adventures of Flotter as well. He sat in between the twins, attached bibs around necks and picked up the first spoon. 

Tom had already returned to the bathroom. He turned the taps on to refill the bath and was contemplating the number of clean towels he and Chakotay had available when he became aware of snuffling noises in the bedroom. Michael had lost his pacifier, and was stirring. Tom rummaged carefully around the side of the basket and triumphantly grasped the missing object. He carefully inserted it between a pair of rosebud lips and breathed a sigh of relief as Michael settled into sleep once more. He stared at the sleeping babies for a moment. The Janeway-Ayala twins were nothing alike. Michael had red hair and his blue eyes had gradually turned hazel. Alyssa was dark, with black hair like her father’s and dark brown eyes. The sound of running water interrupted his adoration and he returned to the bathroom to check on things.

With all of the bigger children in the bath, and Naomi’s helpful assistance in the bathroom, Tom decided the living room would be quieter for the twins. He placed the twins carefully back into their pram and moved it away from the bedroom door. Rennie had fallen asleep in his basket beside the sofa. At just the right moment, Flotter came to an end, and Tom had no trouble herding everyone into the bathroom. He shut the door to the sound of Chakotay playing space shuttles as he fed the twins.

The door chimed and Chakotay called out for Tuvok to enter. It was seventeen thirty precisely. Terik was on his father’s hip and his mother carried his sister in her basket.

“Commander, I was unaware that you were also minding the Carey twins,” said Tuvok as he lowered Terik to the ground. “Do you wish us to cancel our engagement and take them home?”

“Samantha was needed in Sickbay. It’s no trouble.”

“Terik had already eaten. He will go to bed at twenty hundred hours. T’Nika will require feeding at twenty-two hundred hours. I will program her formula into your replicator.” Seven was precise with her instructions. “Where would you like me to place T’Nika’s basket?”

“Err, just in the corner of the room, near the twin’s pram will be fine for now, thanks Seven.”

She deposited the basket gently where Chakotay had instructed, stroked her daughter’s head, and went over to the replicator.

“Here Terik, come up on my knee and help me feed Nicky and James.” 

“Goodnight Papa, goodnight Mama,” said Terik, and then the blue pyjama-clad boy raised his arms and Chakotay lifted him up to the table and onto his knee. 

“See you at midnight.” Chakotay farewelled Tuvok and Seven and turned back to his task. “Now where were we up to? Sarek the spaceshuttle docked at the space station,” and he spooned another helping of apple into Nicky’s mouth to the appropriate the sound effects.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Tom had reached the conclusion that bubble bath with three children in the tub may not have been one of his brighter ideas. Bonny had managed to push the button activating the spa jets and while Tom had turned it off less than a minute later, the bubbles had reached the edge of the tub. Naomi had taken her clothes off and joined the others in the suds. Dav and Bonny were screeching with laughter as she tried to activate the jets again while Dav tried to stop her. Robbie’s dark eyes stared reproachfully at Tom. He wanted to play boats with the shampoo bottles, but he couldn’t find them in the thick white bubbles anymore.

Tom was drenched and his own head was covered with bubbles from when he’d run his hands through his hair. “At least you guys are all clean. Now, how do I get the bubbles off?” He let them play for several more minutes, wishing he had a camera handy. He decided simply to dry the bubbles off with towels. Getting the towels out first would have been useful, but as he hadn’t he would have to lift the children out of the tub first and then get the clean towels from the closet. 

He lifted Bonny out first, who promptly took off into the living room, trailing water and bubbles behind her. “Uncle Tay, look at me!”

Dav was next. “Need a towel, Uncle Tom.”

“In a moment, Dav. I’ll just get Robbie and Naomi out. You’re next, Robbie.”

“Found a ship. Wanna play more.”

“Okay, just for a minute while I help Naomi out. Come on, Angel.”

“I can get out myself, Uncle Tom.”

“I’m sure you can, but there are a lot of bubbles. They make it hard to see. Can I help you just a little?”

While Tom was being reasonable, Naomi had managed to scramble up on to the edge of the tub.

“I did it, see! Catch me,” she cried, and launched herself at Tom. Fortunately, she maintained her precarious grip with her toes as she flung herself forwards. Tom pushed aside visions of emergency beam outs to Sickbay with fractured skulls and caught the wet body. He stood her on the floor and turned to Robbie, who was barely visible in the bubbles. Naomi leant over the side of the tub and caught up handfuls of suds that she piled on her head. 

“Look! I’m a Risan princess.” Naomi took off to the living room. “Uncle Tay! I’m a Risan princess! Hi Terik.” Tom sent Dav and Robbie out to the living room and then went to search out the clean towels.

“Be a princess too,” announced Bonny and headed back to the bathroom. She adorned her head and shoulders with bubbles and ran back out to Naomi. 

Chakotay wiped the worst of the fruit off the mouths of the twins and deposited them on the floor to play. In addition to the jelly Bonny had wiped on him during Little Bear’s adventures, his uniform had collected several blobs of apple when James had decided spitting was a fun thing to do. Terik joined Dav and Robbie. They began to build a spaceport with Tom’s vids, some PADDs and the cushions.

Tom caught up a bundle of clean towels, which he distributed with great rapidity, and then went to check on the twins, who had been disturbed by the passage of the smallest Risan princess.

“Are you okay in there, Tom?”

“I’m on diaper patrol again. Do you know what time these ones were meant to be fed?”

“Not until about twenty hundred or so. Same as T’Nika.”

“Oh joy. Sam said James and Nicky would probably want their final feeds then. Rennie will too. Six babies, four arms between us. We’ve got what? Less than two hours? We should be able to work something out by then; the older ones should all be asleep by twenty hundred,” Tom said hopefully.

“We need to get some clothes on them, Tom.”

“I’ve almost finished changing Michael and Alyssa. I’ll put them in their pram and then check out the clothing situation. Can you at least get them dry?”

Tom played a quick game of piggies with Michael’s toes and placed him back in his basket. Alyssa blinked long-lashed dark eyes at him as she sucked on her pacifier. Tom swung the baskets gently as he took them out to their pram. 

Chakotay dried Dav and Robbie. As long as they could keep building their spaceport they were easy to manage. He now had to tackle the Risan princesses, who had included Nicky and James in their game. James was contentedly sucking on the ear of Bonny’s teddy bear, and Bonny had handed Nicky her rabbit, which she’d found in the bag Carla had carried in. Most of the bubbles had popped and the girls’ long hair looked bedraggled rather than glamorous. Rennie stirred restlessly in his basket.

Tom took T’Nika back into the bedroom and then came out with Robbie’s pyjamas. “Did Kathryn and Greg leave any extra clothes for Dav? And Naomi’s clothes are soaked.” 

“I don’t know. Check and see if they are in with the twins’ things. There probably won’t be any spare clothes for Naomi if Joe was meant to get her at twenty-one hundred.”

“There are only clothes for the twins here. I guess they must have forgotten.”

“Does Robbie have any other clothes with him? Or Bonny?”

“No, there’s only several changes for Rennie, and Bonny’s won’t fit Naomi. Besides, there’s only Bonny’s night dress and some toys left in the bag.”

“Get a couple of your sweaters, Tom. We can roll the sleeves up.”

“My sweaters? Why my sweaters?” Tom grumbled as he looked in the closet. He only had two clean sweaters left: his favorite blue one and a grey one.

Naomi laid claim to the blue one straight away. Dav wasn’t fussy and pulled the grey one on quickly so he could get back to his game. Bonny demanded a sweater too, so Tom thoughtfully produced an old honey-colored one of Chakotay’s. He’d had a feeling Bonny would want to be the same as Naomi and at the moment he wasn’t up to debating matters with a two-year-old over her nightwear. 

“We have to get the knots out of the girls’ hair before they go to bed,” said Tom as he found Bonny’s hairbrush. He handed it to Chakotay and went to get his own to take care of Naomi’s hair. “Vids or stories?” he asked back over his shoulder. “We need to keep them occupied.”

“Naomi. Bonny. Do you want to watch Flotter or hear the story about the Risan Princesses?”

“Story please, Uncle Tay. Here, Bonny.”

Chakotay and Tom took seats on the sofa, with the Risan princesses seated on cushions in front of them and commenced to brush out two sets of locks.

“There once were two princesses named Naomi and Bonny, who lived in a beautiful palace on Risa where the weather was always perfect,” began Chakotay.

In his basket beside the sofa, Rennie whimpered and drew his legs up to his belly. Tom looked down in consternation as the little face wrinkled in preparation for bellowing out his discomfort. He handed Bonny’s hairbrush to Naomi and shifted the little girl in front of her friend. “Here, Naomi, you brush Bonny’s hair.” Fortunately, Tom already had most of the knots out and Naomi was gentle with the brush.

Tom picked up Rennie and tucked him over his shoulder. He rubbed his back and murmured reassuringly as he paced the floor. The door chimed unexpectedly, which woke Michael and Alyssa properly. They began to cry, and startled Rennie into a fresh set of howls. It was Pablo Baytart, dropping off the conn reports to Tom, who had forgotten all about them. Pablo’s eyes widened at the disheveled men and the children.

“Sorry for disturbing you, but you said you wanted these tonight. Do you need a hand?”

“No. We’ve got everything under control. Thanks for the reports. Leave them…oh, I don’t know…on top of the television.” Tom continued pacing as he spoke.

Baytart beat a hasty retreat, apologizing again for the disturbance as he left. 

Chakotay finished Naomi’s hair and picked up the twins. He joined Tom pacing the floor. No sooner than the twins had stopped crying, the door chimed again. It was another crewman with reports, this time for Chakotay. There was no room on top of the television for this lot of PADDs. The noise had upset the twins and Rennie again, so Chakotay gave the command for the computer to disable the door chimes and muttered under his breath about being more stringent with reports being taken to his office instead of his quarters. He walked around the room a few more times and the twins quieted again.

“Okay boys, it’s time for bed. Pack your game up now.” A little of the First Officer’s tone crept into the order. “Girls, we’ll sort out where you are going to sleep in a moment. Maybe you’d like to help stack the vids away?”

Tom took a chance and placed Rennie down in his basket again. He brought T’Nika and the collection baby changing requirements into the living room, and then turned down the covers on the big bed. He grinned suddenly as he had an idea where the girls could sleep.

Back in the living room, he removed the seat cushions from the sofa and armchairs and placed them together on the floor to make two small camp beds. The girls were charmed with the idea of being allowed to sleep in the living room on the floor and made no protest about having to lie down. With assurances that Uncle Tay was the camping expert, Tom left them to sort out where the makeshift beds were going and who would sleep in which one. He took the boys into the bedroom. The boys squabbled for a few minutes over who was to sleep in the middle of the bed but it was soon sorted out. Tom examined the faces of the three boys in front of him, all so different. It was now over an hour past the time when they should have been in bed, and he noticed the boys were moving restlessly under the covers, unable to settle properly. He told the computer to lower the lights, and began to sing an old song about a train taking the children on a journey through the night, following it up with another along similar lines about the moon and stars. 

Back in the living room, he finished with one last song for the girls. “Just you and me, and baby makes eleven, we’re happy in our blue heaven…”

The frenetic atmosphere in the men’s quarters calmed down and Tom and Chakotay stood in silence for a few moments, until they became aware Rennie had begun to move restlessly again, and T’Nika had awakened and was staring about her with wide dark eyes.

“Tom, why don’t you try a herbal tea for Rennie instead of formula? Something with chamomile might help to settle his stomach.”

“Good idea. I’ll get it and T’Nika’s formula. You can change her,” said Tom with a sly smile. He was determined Chakotay should change at least one diaper. Chakotay pulled a face but complied. They returned to the cushionless sofa to sit and feed the babies. The girls had fallen asleep quickly, and they decided to risk putting a vid on with the sound on low. The chamomile tea seemed to work for Rennie and the two youngest babies were returned, clean, fed and content, to the baskets. Now it was the turn of the two sets of older twins.

Tom remembered how Samantha sat to feed the twins at the same time, and convinced Chakotay the sofa was large enough for two men and four babies so they could continue watching the movie. He elected to take on the Carey twins, leaving Chakotay with the smaller Janeway-Ayala twins. They made themselves and the babies comfortable and managed to lose themselves in the action on the screen in front of them for a while.

“Nicky and James are done. How about Michael and Alyssa?”

“Not quite, Tom,” answered Chakotay when a little voice caused the two men to jump. It was Dav.

“Uncle Tay. Uncle Tom. Robbie wet the bed. We can’t sleep now. Can you help?”

“Okay, Dav. Just a minute while I fix Nicky and James. Tell Robbie and Terik to get out of the bed.”

“Yes ,Uncle Tom,” said Dav, and rubbed his eyes as he turned back to the bedroom.

Tom had stripped the bed and placed the last clean towel over the damp spot when Chakotay came to help. He took Robbie into the bathroom and fixed him up. A red sweater of Chakotay’s for him to sleep in cheered him up. It was after twenty-three hundred hours when the boys were finally tucked back into the clean bed.

“One more song, Uncle Tom?” asked Dav drowsily and Tom crooned a verse and chorus of the nonsense he’d made up earlier to the tune of “Moon River”, before coming back out to join Chakotay.

“We could watch the rest of Star Wars now, since we can’t go to bed until everyone has gone home,” said Tom.

“What about all the things in the bathroom?”

“Leave them until morning. Leave everything until morning. I don’t know about you, but I need to sit down.”

“Me too. Here, come and stretch out with me on the sofa.” Chakotay made himself comfortable and then opened his arms to Tom, who fitted into his favorite spot with a deep sigh. They restarted the vid and were soon engrossed. 

“I love this bit,” commented Tom, just as a hiccupping cry rose from Rennie’s basket. Tom reluctantly hauled himself off Chakotay and checked on the baby, who quieted as soon as he was in Tom’s arms.

“He’s dry, he doesn’t need feeding, and we can’t risk him waking the others. I think that means he’s going to watch the rest of the movie.”

Tom took his place back on the sofa, and settled Rennie on his chest. One hand held him in place, and the other began a slow circular massage of the tired baby’s back. It seemed to do the trick and all was quiet at last.

~

At several minutes to midnight, a number of people began collecting outside the door to the Paris-Chakotay quarters. Kathryn Janeway had just pressed the buzzer and was waiting to be invited in, when Harry and B’Elanna arrived.

“I hope Chakotay and Tom were able to cope with three children,” remarked Kathryn.

“Yes, it was kind of them to have Robbie and Rennie when they were already looking after Bonny,” said Harry.

The captain and Greg stared at Harry and B’Elanna. “I meant Michael, Alyssa and Dav,” said Kathryn.

Megan, who with Carla had just joined the group, raised her eyebrows and then grinned. “Six children. Wow.”

Greg pressed the doorbell again as Samantha and Joe Carey joined them. Joe spoke up. “It was pretty hairy in Engineering for a while there, wasn’t it, B’Elanna?”

“Yes, but it’s all under control now. Are you two here to see the commander for something?”

“No. Tom has been looking after Naomi, Nicky and James for us. Sue Nicoletti went into labor unexpectedly and I had to go to Sickbay. She has a new daughter,” answered Sam, smiling tiredly. Sickbay had been hectic with the burns victims from Engineering as well as the birth.

“But that means there are nine babies and children in there with them,” exclaimed Kathryn, who by now was pressing frantically at the still unanswered doorbell.

“Eleven,” came a somber voice. “Commander Chakotay was caring for Terik and T’Nika as well.” Tuvok and Seven joined the party outside the door to Tom and Chakotay’s quarters.

“Then why aren’t they answering the door? Something must have happened. Tuvok, security override. Now!” ordered the captain.

Ten anxious parents jockeyed for position as the door slid open. 

The lights were dim and the television was playing.

“Star Wars: Episode Four,” said Harry knowledgably on hearing the end of the score as the credits rolled unwatched.

A heartwarming sight greeted everyone as they surveyed the sofa. Chakotay was sound asleep, stretched out on his back and still in uniform. One arm held on to Tom, who was also asleep on his back and using Chakotay as his pillow. The visible part of Chakotay’s sleeve was decorated with a number of interesting stains. Tom clutched Rennie to his chest. Rennie resembled a possum, curled up on his tummy, with a thumb stuck in his mouth. As the adults watched, he sighed deeply and burrowed more comfortably into Tom.

All of the chairs, and the sofa to the discomfort of the sleeping men, had been stripped of their cushions. Two camp beds had been made with them. Bonny, arrayed in a sweater they recognized as belonging to Chakotay, was curled up on one set of cushions. Naomi, in Tom’s favorite blue sweater was on the other. 

Near the bedroom door were the twin pram and stroller, each containing a set of sleeping twins. Harry and Greg moved quietly into the bedroom. Dav, Terik and Robbie were in tucked up in Tom and Chakotay’s big bed, while T’Nika slept quietly in her basket, which was on the floor at the foot of the bed.

The bathroom light was on. Greg nudged Harry and directed his attention to the mountain of bubbles that still half-filled the spa, and the puddles and piles of wet towels and clothes on the floor.

“Looks like it was an interesting night.”

“Yeah. I can’t wait to hear about this one. Now we need to work out the best way to get these children home.” Harry picked up T’Nika’s basket to take her out to Tuvok and Seven. “I’ll come back for Robbie, and I’ll send Tuvok back in to get Terik. Dav’s on the outside. You should be able to slide him out without waking him.”

Back in the living room, B’Elanna leant over and touched Tom lightly on the arm. “Tom,” she said quietly. As he started into wakefulness, he reflexively clutched Rennie more firmly to his chest.

“’Lanna? B’Elanna! I’m ’wake. I’m awake,” he mumbled as he tried to sit up. 

B’Elanna took her still sleeping son into her arms, placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head and lowered him into his basket, which she’d found beside the sofa.

“We’re here to collect the children. All of us.”

“Yeah, well…”

Naomi was the only one to waken briefly as Joe lifted her from her cushions. “We’ll return the sweater tomorrow, if you don’t mind?”

“So will we,” said Megan as Tom lifted Bonny into her arms.

“We can’t thank you enough for this. The two of you have the next day off. By the looks of things, you’ll need it!” Kathryn looked around at the disorder.

The weary men watched the cavalcade leave their quarters and walked slowly to their bedroom, leaving everything where it was. Chakotay finally stripped off his uniform and added it to the pile in the bathroom. They snuggled together in bed.

“You know we’ll look back at this and laugh, “ said Tom, and then continued in a high-pitched tone with a creditable imitation of the voice he’d heard earlier, “Tonight was fun, my friend Little Bear.”

“Yes, my friend, Little Cat. Tonight was fun in a weird kind of way, but I don’t want to do it again in a hurry. Now go to sleep,” and then cursed softly as he turned over. Robbie’s wet patch was on his side of the bed.

END


End file.
